Just before noon on Homecoming Saturday, a crowd of students and alumni began to convene at Grant Hall in the uncharacteristically warm October sun. Pictured below, a young child points to the bands playing outside of the Grant Hall building.
Draped in blue, red and gold, the parade to Richardson Stadium included the year groups of alumni that would usually partake in a half-time parade around the stadium’s track. However, with the new design, alumni year groups joined the walk from main campus to West, led by Queen’s Bands.
Queen’s Bands occasionally were forced to stop on route to give alumni a chance to catch up with the marching band, but kept the energy up for crowd-goers during pauses.
Despite Homecoming’s often rowdy past, arrests and tickets were on the decline this year compared to previous years, with Kingston Police labelling the day as “busy, but not overly troublesome”. Read our full recap of the weekend’s policing here.
In another change of tradition, the new stadium came along with an emailed request from Principal Daniel Woolf the week prior to Homecoming that no students or alumni attempt to “rush the field,” as per previous tradition. No spectators attempted rushing during half-time, instead watching performances from Bands, Queen’s cheerleading, the POM team and local musician Logan Brown.
Alumni re-connected both before and during the game, with spirits and energy high in the bright sun.
However, several alumni (not pictured) began a chant at half-time, claiming “We want a parade! We want a parade!”
The game came out in a sweeping victory for Queen’s Gaels, at 55-5 against the Windsor Lancers. Read the QJ Sports recap here.
Overall, the day was deemed a success. Principal Woolf praised Athletics and Recreation, as well as student affairs, on Twitter on Sunday. “Athletics/Rec and Student Affairs did an amazing job creating new Homecoming traditions for our redesigned Stadium. Loved the flag!”
The flag in question was blazoned with the Queen’s “Q”, and passed hand-to-hand through the crowds along with an enormous Canadian flag.
Tags
Alumni, Football, Gaels, Homecoming, parade, Photo essay, photo story, richardson stadium
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